After seeing the photo of the tower at Timms Hill in the photo album, it reminded me of a topic this message board had many years ago. There was talk of building a scenic lookout tower in Bradley Park. As I recall the Army Corp of engineers was even getting involved so as to keep the cost down. I still think a scenic lookout tower in Bradley Park would be a boom to Tomahawk`s tourism, and a boom to the downtown shopping area as well. It would create more tourist traffic in that area of Tomahawk!

Would sure be nice to have a Tower in Bradley Park and probably could be done with funds from residents. A super Idea. I cant see the City helping out since they dont seem to have funds to have a warning siren like most towns have for tornados etc.

I think it would really draw the tourist crowd towards the Downtown area. They`d have ride pass the businesses downtown to get to and from the tower and Bradley park. It would a real shot in the arm for that area of town. It also could really showcase the beauty of Bradley Park , and the southwest area of Tomahawk.

Could someone give a quick summary or what's been happening with Bradley Park for the past 30 or 40 years? The reason I ask is because while growing up in Tomahawk, in the '50s, Bradley Park had great tourist camping activity...tourists from out of town would come, with their families, and spend a week or two of vacation time camping in the park along with fishing, boating, water skiing, etc. It was a happening place in the summer. Also, there used to be boathouses by the old Marinette train station near the entrance of the park where locals would keep their boats for use on Lake Mohawkskin.

When I visited Tomahawk 4 years ago, for the first time in about 40 years, the boathouses were gone and the Park was completely empty. The area and Park was a deserted shell of its former self? What the heck happened?

Bradley Park is a beautiful place and I'll always love it. I practically lived there as a kid while growing up. I knew every trail and shortcut from Mirror Lake to The Point. I was really sad to see that nobody was enjoying it.

What would the Tower accomplish? Would it bring some life back to the Park? Do you really think people would pay to be driven to the Park to climb the Tower? I would gladly support it if it would accomplish something other than a project just to dump money and effort into. I would support anything that would encourage and get people to enjoy the Park more than is happening now.

Easy KEN, easy...I'm just asking some questions? I'm not against it, I'm just trying to understand it. I brought up a lot of stuff in my post and you didn't address anything except my assumption that there would be some kind of transportation provided. Sorry, if my assumption was wrong...I may have misinterpreted what was said in an earlier post?

Anyone who has read my posts for the last couple of years knows that I support anything that will improve the economy and life of Tomahawk. But I want future endeavors to be fiscally sound and thought out.

On first thought, I love the idea of the Tower. Let's work together on this to see if it will/can fly. Which means lots of questions need to be asked and answered.

I don't think that there would be any cost involved in getting to the tower. The park is still open to the public so they could just drive in. It would be just a tourist attraction where they could get above the trees and be able to see the city and Lake Mohawksin.

The park was closed to camping some time in the 70's. This was due to erosion and concern over damage to the trees. There are some new picnic shelters, but most of the old buildings are gone. The Stone building is still there and the log building at the enterance to the park. The band stand is long gone and so are the boat houses and the changing rooms down where the beach used to be. The road that goes past mirror lake is closed to vehicle traffic and mirror lake is stocked with pan fish and is designated for kids fishing. The park is used mostly for group and family picnics now. There aren't any real organized activities there.

There was some discussion some time back about building the tower on the high ridge on the way out to the point, but I think it was just a brainstorming session. Never heard of anything coming of it.

As for Bradley Park it is sad to see it so deserted. The attention now is Sara Park and parks where baseball, hockey, soccer etc. is now the norm. There are nice big painted signs to all these but Bradley Park? Used to have a big sign up on the corner but that has come down. If you look closely you may see a small flag on the lightpole pointed to it. The trouble is old family values are gone. Do kids want a picnic in the park? And if they do you can bet they will be on their cellphone text messaging someone. Sad to me who also remembers the park 50 years ago.Now the attention is the new dog park Duh.... Something is wrong with this picture.

Now the attention is the new dog park Duh.... Something is wrong with this picture. (posted by deebug -10/27)

I agree deebug - we really do need to get back to the simple things in life - it is to bad that they get pushed aside. We can still have family values though.As far as the dog park being the "new" attention grabber? not true - this is a passing idea that will fall on its face - lets see- dogs getting along with each other & not fighting? How many people do you really think use this at all?? It was an idea that really is not needed in this town & will not be utilized. It will go by the wayside.

Logic, you're right about the dog park, at least I hope so, what a waste of time and money. But don't worry about returning to the simple way of life. Soon we'll all be living like "little house on the prairie" sitting around with kerosene lamps and wood fired cooking. Get up with the sun to not waste free light time. If you get up early enough you will be tired by dark, then there will be no need for lighting. Go to sleep and say goodnight dear, see you at sun up.

I would think that some funds would be available from the Wisconsin Tourism Dept. That, and some from the merchants in town, especially the ones downtown, might get the show on the road. I think if there would be some money offered up front, it might start the ball rolling to raise more.

Folks have less descretionary income these days. That means less spent at the downtown businesses you want to help "ante up" for the price of the tower. How in the world would that tower, providing a better view of the downtown, help their bottom line?

" How in the world would that tower, providing a better view of the downtown, help their bottom line?"

Jeff, It just seems that ever since the 51 bypass was completed there`s less reason for tourists to drive through town. Especially down Wisconsin ave. Years ago everyone drove right through the town as they entered from the south. A lot of resorts and motels are north of downtown Tomahawk. I know I have stayed on Lake Nokomis for just a day or two, and never ended up driving down Wisconsin ave., but I did have to go to N. 4th street for gas and food. If I had wanted to check out a scenic tower in Bradley Park, I might have bought my gas at Charlies and stopped at a Wisconsin ave store.Tourists and visitors that are staying at the places north of town don`t need to go any farther then N. 4th to get gas , food, etc. etc. I just thought that reviving Bradley Park by adding a scenic tower would have more visitors to the area having to drive right through Tomahawk on Wisconsin ave. to get to and from the park and tower. The area around the intersection of Tomahawk and Wisconsin avenues would deifinetly see more tourist traffic.

It is possible that a tower in Bradley Park would attract people from neighboring cities who would find it a relaxing and memorable experience not just tourists passing through. We from Tomahawk go to Timms Hill and go to Rhinelander for river cruises etc. so why wouldnt a resident from a place nearby want to drive to Tomahawk for a beautiful view of the park. I miss the old Tomahawk where we would wander from one end of Wisconsin Avenue to the other visiting the sporting goods display of their fish and the gift shops along the way. I know that feeling of nostalgia is gone, sad as it is, but a tower does sound good to me. Would be sad to see it built and not used which could easily happen. And I am sure there are those who can see more problems than pleasure in promoting Bradley Park. We can dream cant we?

I think the topic of a tower at Bradley Park was discussed a few years back, on the message board. Personally I think the only way a tower would promote tourism is if it was of some sort of historical significance or if there was some sort of breathtaking landscape that could only be viewed from a tower. It would be interesting how much the shelters actually get used. I believe one is reservable the other first come first serve.

If I remember correctly there used to be a toboggan slide or some kind of slid right on the edge of that small lake in Bradley Park. Is that Mirror Lake? When the lake was frozen you came off that slide and flew across the lake. It was not close enough to the lake to be a water slide during the summer. Not to mention the fact the lake was not real good for swimming.

I call it a toboggan slide although I'm not sure what it was originally intended to be. I only remember sliding down it a time or two. We were told to stay off the thing because it was quit "rickety".

Does anyone remember this thing and what it was originally intended to be?

There used to be a couple of fire towers in the forest around Tomahawk back in the '60s. Are they still there? We used to climb them all the time.

I love Bradley Park. I spent several years of my youth growing up in French town of 86 and I spent most of my time in Bradley park. It was like having my own forest in my back yard. I used to love going to the camping area to see who would be there. I spent many an hour out on the point either fishing or exploring the little islands that it was made up from. It is sad to see Bradley park in its' deserted condition. But unfortunately like many things us older generation grew up with camping, hiking, exploring and most outdoor activities have been replaced by electronic/video games and Ipods. Kids no longer spend time in the back seat of Mom and Dads station wagon looking forward to getting to thier camping spot. These days, most kids spend the whole trip playing Zelda or Mario and they never even see what passes by them in the window. They don't know what they are missing. I know there are some kids still being raised doing traditional family vacation activities, but they are rare these days. I remember when 51 ran past the Alamo Plaza motel and I and my friends would sit on the corner on weekends and wave to travelers as they went by. Traffic would be lined up a long ways back. We used to get such a kick when vacationers would wave back at us. Much as I would love to see any sort of improvements to Bradley park, I don't see it ever attracting the numbers it used to. Not because the park has lost its luster, but because most folks have lost thier desire to see it. However, if a tower can draw some attention to its beauty and usefulness, then maybe it would be worth the effort. I no longer live in the Tomahawk area, but I do visit every couple of years and would certainly support any improvements to the park.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

The things you mention...Frenchtown, checking out the campers in Bradley Park, fishing off the Point(and in Lake Mohawksin), the corner of 51 with the Alamo Plaza, even the toboggan slide at Mirror Lake that Floyd wrote(I think they tore it down in the mid '50s)...could have been written by me. They were all places and things I did as a kid. My 'backyard' was Bradley Park, with my 'frontyard' was downtown. Maybe we know each other?

Years ago there was lots of traffic going through town where now it doesn't because of the bypass. Also, I'm afraid that things have changed so much in the way people vacation that a Tower just wouldn't attract enough people to make it feasible. If Bradley Park allowed campers, like they used to, that might be a different story.